The Ritual Bath: The First Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.

Good Read

Very enjoyable book. Lively characters, good plot, unusual setting -- an Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva. The book was informative as well as enjoyable. I lik..Show More »ed the ending too, it wasn't what I expected. The narrator did an excellent job. Highly recommend this audie.

I have one negative, and it's the same thing I said about "The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." There is a fair amount of Yiddish and Hebrew in the book. Most of the time I was either familiar with the words or could glean the meaning from context -- I think. For example, Rina calls her son "shmulie." I know this to be a term of endearment used by parent to child. But -- had I not known this, I could just as easily have concluded that this was an affectionate diminutive of the child's name.

Once again I was left with the feeling that I hadn't read the entire book, that fine points of nuance and color had escaped me in the language. And for a book as good as this (or "Oscar") I want every word, every shade of color, every slight hint of nuance.

Do not however, let this deter you from listening to this excellent book. You'll understand the majority of what's said and often it's explained, at one point or another.

The Ritual Bath: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Sergeant Decker is called to investigate a rape charge in an isolated Orthodox Jewish Community. Rina Lazarus, the young widow who found the victim, is the only one in the community willing to cooperate with Decker as she tries to steer him through the maze of religious laws that thwart his investigation at every turn. But as the trail grows cold, Decker and Rina grow closer - until a sudden horrific revelation about the case threatens to tear them apart.

Sacred and Profane: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Los Angeles Police Detective Peter Decker had grown very close to Rina's young sons, Sammy and Jake, as he had to their mother, and he looked forward to spending a day of his vacation camping with the boys. A nice reprieve from the grueling work of a homicide cop - until Sammy stumbles upon a gruesome sight.

Do not listen to in the car with children!

I love this series so far. I feel I am learning so much about Jewish Orthodoxy while being entertained by very believable and exciting plots. BUT, I..Show More » wish it wasn't so sexually graphic. I've decided to download the next in the series because I really do like the characters and I love murder mysteries. We'll see. . .

Milk and Honey

In the silent pre-dawn city hours - alone with his thoughts about Rina Lazarus, the woman he loves, 3,000 miles away in New York - L.A.P.D. detective Peter Decker finds a small child, abandoned and covered in blood that is not his. It is a sobering discovery, and a perplexing one, for nobody in the development where she was found steps forward to claim the little girl. Obsessed more deeply by this case than he imagined possible, Decker is determined to follow the scant clues to an answer.

Milk and Honey

The story is acturally a good one...I don't know if reader is given an exact script...this has so many He said She said and He asked She asked that it..Show More » becomes so annoying you want to scream......get rid of that format and you have a keeper.......

Day of Atonement

Peter Decker of the L.A.P.D. never dreamed he'd be spending his honeymoon with his new wife, Rina Lazarus, in an Orthodox Jewish enclave in Brooklyn, New York or that a terrible event would end it so abruptly. But a boy has vanished from the midst of this close-knit religious community, a troubled youth fleeing the tight bonds and strictures he felt were strangling him. The runaway, Noam, is not traveling alone. A killer has taken him under his wing to introduce Noam to a savage world of blood and terror.

Love this series! Start from the begining!!

Love Mitch Greenburg’s narration! Definitely start this series from the beginning very little time elapses between books. I am SOOOO excited that Aud..Show More »ible has been filling the holes in this series! Keep up the great work!

False Prophet: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

LAPD Detective Peter Decker doesn’t know quite what to make of Lilah Brecht. The beautiful, eccentric spa owner and daughter of a faded Hollywood legend, Lilah was beaten, robbed, and raped in her own home - and claims to have psychic powers that enable her to see even more devastating events looming on the horizon. With his heart and mind on his pregnant young wife, Rina Lazarus, at home, Peter finds it hard to put much credence in the victim’s outrageous claims, or to become too deeply involved....

Least Favorite

I think tbis is an earlier book and I didnt enjoy the sexual content and language just didnt think it was necessary and found the story not up to the ..Show More »quality of others I have read and enjoyed

Grievous Sin: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

The birth of their baby girl has filled Rina Lazarus and her husband, LAPD Homicide Detective Peter Decker, with joy mingled with sorrow, since complications have ensured that they can have no more children. But the situation is grim at the hospital, which has been devastated by severe budget cutbacks and staff shortages. And when a respected nurse vanishes along with a newborn from the nursery, Peter and Rina fear for the safety of their own precious child.

Shallow plot, dragged out

Difficult to listen to this entire book. Didn't require any concentration at all. I put this book in the category of a "dime mystery novel" - Narrat..Show More »ion was good. If you listen to books while doing other tasks requiring concentration, then go ahead and burn a credit. Book seemed to drag on forever. Was sooooooooooo glad when I finished it.

Sanctuary: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

A diamond dealer and his entire family have mysteriously disappeared from their sprawling Las Angeles manor, leaving the estate undisturbed and their valuables untouched. Investigating detective Decker is stumped - faced with a perplexing case riddled with dead ends. Then a second dealer is found murdered in Manhatten, catapulting Decker and his wife, Rina, into a heartstopping maze of murder and intrigue that spans the globe... only to touch down dangerously in their own backyard.

A "Diamond" of a book

After reading a very large intense book, I chose Sanctuary as my “in between” read, thinking it would be easy and light. I was pleasantly surprised to..Show More » have really enjoyed it. In the beginning I thought it was a little hokey with just too much Jewish background, but I soon came to realize it was all an integral part of the entire plot.

This murder-mystery deals with the diamond industry, and takes the reader from Los Angeles to Israel. When dealing with billions of dollars, there’s bound to be thievery, cheating, murder, suspense, throw in a little middle-east politics and you have a recipe for a great story. I have only read one other Faye Kellerman book which was years ago so I cannot compare, but Sanctuary can stand on it’s own merits. You don’t have to read any of the other Peter Decker/Rina series to enjoy this one. There are enough plot twists to engage any reader.

Having been to Israel and understanding many of the places described in the book was an added bonus. The accurate descriptions of the many different kinds of people from black-hat orthodox, to PLO terrorist, to holocaust survivor, to an L.A. police sergeant – all well done.

There was an extensive overuse of Hebrew and Yiddish words throughout the book, which may be off-putting to someone not familiar with those languages. I also felt there was just too many wasted words about Peter and Rina’s baby Hanna. I assume their side story is the common thread that makes these books a series, but I found it distracting and annoying.

Mitchell Greenberg the narrator was awesome. He pronounced every one of those Hebrew and Yiddish words perfectly, adding authenticity to the story. He changed his accent so many times to suit the characters; everything from Israeli yeshiva boys, to Orthodox old men, to Israeli women and the list goes on. He did a superb job with the inflections of all the characters.

Justice: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

The cruel and bizarre slaying of a beautiful teen leads Detective Decker into the dark heart of an exotic subculture: the seamy, sometimes violent world of Southern California's rootless, affluent youth. But even the confession of a disturbed kid with cold "killer eyes" cannot soothe Decker's inner torment. For he knows in his gut this crime goes much deeper and higher than anyone expects - and that true justice, brutal and complete, has yet to be done.

Great Story but Not Typical of the Series

If you enjoy this series mostly because of the wonderful Rina Lazarus Decker and her children and/or because of the fascinating peeks into the world o..Show More »f ultraorthodox (Torah) Judaism, skip this one. Rina is barely in this book, her sons are totally absent, and daughter Hannah is still a toddler. What limited religious discussion there is centers on Roman Catholic Guilt.

In "Justice," family life and religion take a (very) back seat to, in plain words, explicit and perverse but nonetheless erotic sex, and to the introduction of two new characters who (fortunately, in my opinion) will show up in several later entries in this series.

Large segments of the book are narrated in the first person by 16-year-old Theresa McLaughlin, a precociously intelligent and immensely beautiful senior at a Valley high school whose family life is barren and dysfunctional. She recounts her relationship and sexual awakening with Christopher Whitman, an equally beautiful senior at the same high school, but older and mysteriously independent. He is also a musical prodigy (classical cello) and the adopted son of a Mafioso who has brought him up to be a stone-cold killer. His childhood makes Terry's family miseries look like a day at the beach.

I've liked most of the Decker/Lazarus books, and find "Justice" to be one of the most engrossing and interesting. Murder doesn't happen until 2/3 of the way in, but when it does, it's a gripping and baffling case that takes a lot of unexpected twists. There is no doubt that Terry and, most especially, Chris are compelling characters; not surprising that Faye Kellerman will bring them back in later books. Yay!

Now the bad news. Mitch Greenberg, who narrates most of the books in this series, is a straightforward "cop procedural" narrator who does a good job with Detective Peter Decker and has accomplished a more than acceptable characterization of Rina. He also does a good job as Chris. But he is *totally* out of his element when he takes on the first-person narrations by Theresa. She whines like an immature Valley Girl, when in fact the character is mature beyond her years and the musically gifted Chris first notices her because of her resonant and lovely speaking voice. Oops. With at least a third of the book (and all the erotic scenes) narrated this way, it is a shame the publisher could not have sprung for a really good female reader for the role of Terry.

Prayers for the Dead: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

The brutal murder of Dr. Azor Sparks in an alley behind a restaurant is greeted with public outrage and a demand for swift, sure justice. But the investigation into the well-known surgeon's death is raising too many questions and providing too few answers for homicide detective Lieutenant Peter Decker. , for example, would the family of a man so beloved respond to his slaying with more surprise than grief? And what linked a celebrated doctor with strict fundamentalist beliefs to a gang of outlaw bikers?

Mediocre at best.

Too many characters and rather outdated. The beginning of the book mentions doctor television shows that haven't existed since I was a child. Sounds..Show More » petty but that's very important to me when listening or reading a book that the author keep the information present.

I apologize to all her fans but this book, I didn't like. I downloaded another $5.00 book written by Ms. Kellerman so we'll see how this one goes.

Serpent's Tooth: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel

A man walks into a trendy Los Angeles restaurant - a disgruntled ex-employee with an automatic weapon - and seconds later, thirteen people are dead and thirty-two more have been wounded. It is a heinous act of mass slaughter that haunts Homicide Detective Peter Decker. But, though eyewitnesses saw only the lone gunman - who apparently took his own life after his bloody work was done - evidence suggests more than one weapon was fired.

this book has "tooth"

A mystery should have good twists, turns and surprises, and this one does. I would go so far as to say that the mystery in this book is more fully ex..Show More »plored that the crime in most of the nine previous novels.

I have always loved the exploration of the main characters' personal lives. That is my favorite aspect of her books. And this one is no different. In fact, in this one we learn more about the kids' lives which is fantastic.

Jupiter's Bones: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Once, Dr. Emil Euler Ganz was a preeminent astrophysicist with a world-renowned reputation. But then he vanished without any warning to his family or colleagues. Fifteen years later, he reappeared as "Father Jupiter", the founder and charismatic leader of the scientific cult, The Order of the Rings. And now he's dead - a vial of sleeping pills and an empty bottle of vodka standing near his lifeless body.

Good listeni

Good story. Can't listen to book with children present because of language and graphic content

Stalker: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel, Book 12

Cynthia Decker became a cop against her father, Peter Decker's, wishes. But police work is in her blood, and she's determined to make it on her own -- even now, when her razor sharp instincts for danger are telling her that something is very wrong... The signs are impossible to ignore: things being moved around in her apartment, the destruction of personal effects. But it's a harrowing trip down a dark canyon road that confirms Cindy's worst fears. Someone fiendishly relentless, and with decidedly evil intentions, is stalking her.

I liked it

The story kept going throughout. Decker, the dad, showed a very human side when his daughter was in danger.

The Forgotten: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Rina Lazarus and her husband, LAPD Homicide Lieutenant Peter Decker, are shocked by an outrage that cuts close to the spiritual heart of their family. Rina's small storefront synagogue has been desecrated with anti-Semitic graffiti and grisly Nazi death camp photographs. The alleged perpetrator is 17-year-old Ernesto Golding, a "rich kid" obsessed with haunting suspicions about the origins of his Polish paternal grandfather.

Good Overall

Almost the entire book. I was a little disappointed with a part of the ending even though the ending was good. I won't say which part.

Sometimes a book goes temporarily out of print - and sometimes no audio version has ever been recorded. Audible wants to give you the most complete selection we can and we'll keep adding series and filling in gaps as quickly as possible.

Sometimes a book goes temporarily out of print - and sometimes no audio version has ever been recorded. Audible wants to give you the most complete selection we can and we'll keep adding series and filling in gaps as quickly as possible.

The Burnt House

A small commuter plane carrying 47 passengers crashes into an apartment building, and LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker works overtime to calm rampant fears. But a grisly mystery lives inside the plane's wreckage: the unidentified bodies of four extra travelers. And there is no sign of an airline employee who was supposedly on the catastrophic flight.

Recommended for Faye Kellerman Fans

Faye is the best of the Kellerman clan, and over the years, Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus have become very real characters, like old friend whose visi..Show More »ts I look forward to every year or so to find out what is going on with the family.

This book is a solid police procedure piece. The strengths are the carefully woven plot, Peter's experiences with his compatriots on the police force, the technical aspects of the investigation and the gripping tension.

What I missed was spending more time with Rina and the kids whose life-cycle stresses seemed rather mundane. I also missed the intersection of the plot with interesting sub-cultures which have been such fascinating parts of FK's prior works. There is a brief interlude with a Hispanic-Indian family in Santa Fe, but it was rather contrived, and seemed like it was put there for FK to take a tax write-off on a trip to New Mexico. The plot resolution that links the two missing persons seems rather unlikely, but was still satisfying.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I am a big fan of George Guidall, though I have no idea how he gets the time to perform all of the books in his repertoire. He does his usual strong performance here

The Mercedes Coffin

Billionaire genius Genoa Greeves never got over the shocking death of her favorite teacher, Bennett "Dr. Ben" Alston Little, murdered execution-style and stuffed into the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz. No arrests were ever made, no killer charged for the brutal crime. Fifteen years later, the high-tech CEO reads about another execution-style murder; this time the victim is a Hollywood music producer named Primo Ekerling.

Wonderful people - Decker and his wife and family

I really enjoy Faye Kellerman's writing and her characters. I enjoy them as people; they're ethical and real. This story is as gripping as the other..Show More »s. I wish only that there were more of her books that were unabridged on Audible. I only read full versions.

Blindman's Bluff

LAPD homicide detective Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus, will be blindsided by a brutal multiple murder in this twisting tale of suspense from New York Times best-selling author Faye Kellerman.

Good enough

I don't know what it is about Decker and his family but I find them such nice people that I listen happily to the books as if the narration weren't re..Show More »ally about murder and mayhem (which they are). The courage and genuine humanity of the Decker family influences my experience of the book. The story is good, not great - but good enough to make me read on.

Hangman: A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Fifteen years ago, high school senior Chris Whitman went to jail for murdering his girlfriend, Cheryl Diggs. Propelled by a misguided sense of chivalry, he confessed, determined to save another classmate, the beautiful and vulnerable Terry McLaughlin, from having to testify at his trial. When the truth came out, Chris was released from prison, married Terry - pregnant with his child - and changed his last name to Donatti. He also became a professional killer.

Felt as if she ran out of time

I always enjoy the Peter and Rina Decker novels, although I find we haven't had enough of Rina in recent books. And the link between their religious o..Show More »bservance and their daily lives is hardly emphasized any more -- in this book, they take in a non-Jewish kid and there is barely any reference to how he is going to adjust to life in a Shomer Shabbos (Sabbath observant) home. But that's not my main complaint about this one, which just feels disjointed and unbalanced. Kellerman has decided to describe every female character's clothing, which is a bit bizarre -- do we care that Marge is wearing rubber-soled shoes? And she goes into great detail about every single preliminary interrogation as Peter and his team try to solve the murders -- but then all of the final and crucial leg work, interviews, shocking evidence, interrogations and confessions are described in a summary narrative in the last 45 minutes of the book, or less. Did she reach her page limit and say, "Oops, no time for more dialogue, let's wrap everything up?" Also, no one seems at all fazed that an intelligent doctor has stayed married to a hit man for years and seems to have no problem with his continuing to see their son. I'm giving it three stars because I was consistently interested, but it's not up to Kellerman's usual standards.

Hangman

Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus face a familiar sociopath in this electrifying new tale of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman. When LAPD Lieutenant Peter Decker reluctantly agrees to do a big favour for old friend Teresa McLaughlin, he knows that his involvement will bring her sociopathic husband, Chris Donatti, back into his life. But then Terry goes missing and Donatti disappears, leaving their 14-year-old son Gabe behind.

Gun Games: A Decker/Lazarus Novel

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep - witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools. Gregory’s mother refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen....

Yes, Chris is back

Faye Kellerman introduced teenaged Chris Donatti in 1995???s ???Justice,??? an unusual but fascinating (and surprisingly erotic) entry in the Peter De..Show More »cker/Rina Lazarus series. Chris resurfaced in 2002 in ???Stone Kiss,??? one of the best books in the series. Chris--a superhandsome, superintelligent, artistically gifted sociopath and mob assassin--had grown up, served time, and become a wealthy businessman operating on the shady side of the law, able to go where stalwart cop Decker cannot tread and with feelings for Rina that are never articulated but come across quite clearly.

Chris showed up again in last year???s ???Hangman,??? leaving his son Gabe Whitman in Peter and Rina???s care. Gabe, who has inherited his father???s good looks, intelligence, and an even more prodigal musical talent, is the focal point of ???Gun Games.??? He???s still a kid, and is a teenager-in-love (with a Persian Jewish girl who loves opera?!?). Likeable as he is, good guy Gabe is not the compelling character his father was at his age (why are handsome, dangerous bad guys so exciting?), and there???s not a lot of action in "Gun Games" until close to the end. But fans of the series should find this a solid entry, and it seems to set up some interesting possibilities to come. I???m already looking forward to the next book!

Blood Games

When fifteen-year-old Gregory Hesse is found dead, a single gunshot to his head, it appears to be a tragic suicide. But it’s a verdict his mother refuses to accept and eventually her pleas for an inquiry are taken seriously.Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD knows only too well what secret lives teenagers live. He and his wife Rina have recently taken on the responsibility of raising Gabe Whitman, an enigmatic and gifted teen, after his parents abandoned him.

The Beast: Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, Book 21

Throughout his years with the LAPD, Peter Decker has handled a number of tough cases and strange killers. But few of his previous assignments compare to his latest case. When Hobart Penny is found dead in his apartment, the cops think that his pet cat - an adult female tiger - attacked the reclusive elderly billionaire. But it soon becomes clear that the beast that killed the eccentric inventor is all too human.

Lacking

This installment just seemed to be lacking something. Suspense maybe. A lot of wild animal info, that was kinda boring. Young love problems with paren..Show More »ts were discussed, through Gabe. Chris Donati had a cameo to get more readers, but had little to do with this novel. There just wasn't any OMG moments to the book, or bite your nails suspense. The case was investigated, and easily solved through interviews and paper trails. It seemed to be a wrap up of characters, where a new beginning could take place, but if this is a taste if things to come, I don't think I'll be interested. I didn't care for the narrator at all, so that could have helped to kill the book too.